EDITORIAL: Blue Angel helps hope soar in hometown of Pelham

The new Donnie Cochran Community Complex in Pelham, named for the Pelham native who became the first African-American pilot and later commander of the famed Blue Angels, is an important transformation of a facility. The hope is that it also will serve as a catalyst for the transformation of young minds who, like its namesake, want to soar.

We don’t often think of the beginnings that make a leader, whether it’s Navy Capt. Cochran or another like retired Rear Adm. David O. Anderson or Gov. Nathan Deal, both of whom came to the Mitchell County community last week to take part in the dedication.

In the case of Cochran, a young lad working on his family’s Mitchell County farm who wiped the sweat from his eyes and gazed into the azure skies quite often, skies that he would one day streak through with unimaginable speed, skill and precision.

“When I was young, I had dreams of flying,” he said. “The way I became interested in flying was there were Navy jets that overflew the farm where I grew up. There were also cropdusters and all sorts of aviation-related aircraft that I would see. There must have been a training route located close to there, because these planes would fly over. That excited me and that inspired me to pursue the aviation route.”

He had a hope and a dream that he pursued and achieved. What the Cochran Complex is designed to do is offer a place that will provide hope, dreams and opportunity to underprivileged youths in the community.

According to Pelham Mayor James Eubanks, the facility has a meeting hall and classrooms that the local technical college will use for GED classes and other educational purposes. It also has dorms and a commercial kitchen, which the Red Cross has already expressed interest in using as a shelter; a gym; a sports field, and a playground. There are plans for a day care facility.

The complex started out as a school — Cochran attended it in his youth — but was later turned into a youth detention center. Now, it has returned to a use aimed at improving the future. Deal said it’s a case in which Georgia’s criminal justice reform is helping the state beat “our swords into plowshares.”

But as important as the facility is and as important as the programs it entails are, kids need inspiration. They need to see someone who can come from the area they come from and accomplish great things. Cochran embodies that, a role model who can encourage youths to stay in school and position themselves to excel in life.

“This building represents more than just a name on a building, it represents what’s possible for our community,” Cochran said at the dedication. “I couldn’t be happier standing before you and acknowledging the honor of this facility being named after me. First, I want to give grace and honor to God for protecting me while flying over 888 carrier landings. My new focus is about giving back and making a difference in our community.”

As a role model, Cochran is doing just that.